Vanilla Almond Milk

About 7 months ago I had a food sensitivity/intolerance test done and among the foods that came up were my beloved almonds. It came as no surprise since I ate them everyday. So I took them completely out of my diet for the past 7 months and am now slowly re-introducing them. So far, so good. I’m going to continue to cross my fingers and hope that my body is now desensitized from them so I can start stuffing my face with almond butter again. Of course not everyday, I try and do a 4 day rotation with my food now so that my body won’t get used to something and destroy the enzymes needed to digest it. Thus causing foods to ferment and putrefy in the gut causing a variety of problems that are not at all good for the body. This is not the only way to get food intolerances/sensitivities though, just one of them. But enough about the gut, that is a whole other conversation in itself and I will definitely post about how our overall health is dependant on our gut health.

But for now, back to my beloved.

Store bought almond milk is filled with preservatives and artificial ingredients (even if it says natural flavor, the term “natural” is not regulated and means nothing) and there’s only about 2% almonds in the carton. Oh and it’s pasteurized. I’m sorry but that doesn’t seem appetizing to me.

By making your own almond milk, you are able to benefit from all it’s health boosting nutrients.

Almonds are one of the best sources of vitamin E, which has powerful antioxidant abilities to fight free radical damage, and it is great for skin health of course. They also contain magnesium, which is required for basically every process in the body, you know no big deal. You will also benefit from the calcium, potassium , zinc, and niacin that are in these gems. Can’t forget about those healthy fats that lubricate the skin and are needed for brain health.

So first and foremost, you need to soak the almonds overnight. Almonds contain phytic acid which protects the nuts in order to grow to full maturity. But it sucks for us. Phytic acid is an enzyme inhibitor which prevents our body from complete and proper breakdown of the nut. This also prevents our body’s from absorbing the nutrients from the nut. This is why you need to soak your nuts before eating to deactivate this acid.

Also important to note here. You want to make sure you buy whole, raw, unsalted (and of course organic a’hem) almonds from Spain or Italy if you can. Almonds that come from North America, even if they say raw and organic, are 100% pasteurized. The pasteurization of all raw almonds coming from North America came into effect in 2007 and it’s no hidden secret. But companies are still allowed to advertise them as raw, which they are not! The problem is once pasteurization occurs, the nutrients and enzymes are denatured and destroyed. So my beloved almonds have nothing more to offer me. Yes this includes almond butter too. I buy almonds that come from Spain and ditch the ones coming from California. If you do live in the states, you can still get real raw almonds at farmer’s markets and if you’re in Toronto you can purchase european raw almonds at most health food stores and organic grocers.

Vanilla Almond Milk

Ingredients:

2 cups of whole raw almonds (from spain or Italy preferably)

4½ cups of filtered water

4 inch vanilla bean

Optional-1 date for added sweetness (soaked for 10mins) although I prefer without.

1. Soak almonds overnight in water.

2. Drain water and rinse almonds well.

3. Place almonds, filtered water and vanilla bean into blender and mix.

4. Place contents of blender into a nut milk bag and strain until you are only left with pulp in the bag. Enjoy.